From the isolation of our homes, AirGo is presenting a series called On the Line, which focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic and the people putting their bodies on the line to help us all survive and heal. Over the next few weeks, we'll be hopping on the line with workers in the health care, educational, governmental, organizing, and prison abolition spheres to talk about what their work looks like right now, and what we can do to help as we isolate our physical bodies at home. This episode's guest is Antonio Gutierrez, an architect, organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations, and a co-founder of the Autonomous Tenants Union. They delve into how ATU supports tenants as they fight against the violences of eviction and displacement, how this current crisis has both created enormous strife and brought many new renters into the conversation, the connections between the violence of eviction and that of deportation, and what a culture of de-commodified housing could look like.
Sign ATU's petition demanding a rent freeze in Chicago now!: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/rent-freeze-in-chicago-now
Get information about how you and your neighbors can exercise your rights as tenants: https://autonomoustenantsunion.org/covid19
Recorded 4/28/20 in Chicago
Music from this week's show:
Park - Isaiah Rashad